REVEALED EMMA SUSPECT’S SHAMEFUL HISTORY OF VIOLENT ABUSE
Court hears of assaults on partners
Norman Silvester
The man named as a forgotten suspect in the Emma Caldwell murder investigation has a series of previous convictions for attacking women, we can reveal.
Iain Packer’s record of violence against women was exposed as he was convicted of throttling his ex-partner.
Dur ing the ca se , a prosecutor revealed that the 47-year- old had been i nvolved in t h re e domestic assaults in the past 12 years. Packer admitted grabbing his ex by the throat and restricting her breathing, in a hearing at Airdrie Sheriff Court last week.
In Apr i l 2015, the Sunday Mai l revealed that Packer had been questioned s i x t imes over the murder of Emma, who died in 2005.
He was never charged as detectives favoured pursuing a group of Turkish men, who were eventually cleared.
Following our story, then Lord
Advocate Frank Mulholland ordered pol ice to reopen the investigation and it remains ongoing.
On Tuesday, prosecutor Brent Bissop told the court: “All three of the previous offences were domestic incidents. The first in 2007 involved the same partner as in these current offences. The ones in 2008 involved a different partner and the third ones in 2011 involved another partner.”
Packer had previously denied ever being violent towards women during a BBC programme about the case.
His lawyer Dale Hughes told the court he would reserve his comments in mitigation until l the case is back in court later this month.
Packer was also alleged to have assaulted his ex at a house in Airdrie in May 2018. It was claimed he punched her on the face.
It was also claimed he repeatedly sent her obscene, indecent and sexual written communications by text message and social media, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming her.
The Crown accepted not guilty pleas to all of these offences.
Sentence was deferred until later this month and Packer was released on bail.